Review: Neato XV-11 robotic vacuum cleaner

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When you think of robot vacuum cleaners (if you think about them at all), it’s probably the Roomba that comes to mind. iRobot released this product and made it a hit at Target and Costco and all the other places where America’s consumers could buy one, quickly associating the Roomba–complete with its friendly name and easy controls–with automated home cleaning. While “Roomba” is well on its way to being the “Frisbee” of flying discs (or the “Kleenex” of tissues for that matter) competition has emerged, the most interesting of which is the Neato XV-11 Robotic All-Floor Vacuum.

The XV-11 sells for $399, putting it at a price premium over the Roomba 560 we recently covered. The price point (as well as the lack of cheaper models) will be an issue for many buyers, but Neato is trying to position the XV-11 a bit differently than Roomba, particularly playing up the cleverness of their robot. Th XV-11 is, according to Neato, the “most powerful robotic vacuum cleaner available in the US market”.

What makes the XV-11 different? One big difference is that it uses Neato’s Room Positioning System to map the room it’s in and to then clean as effectively as possible. The map it creates is stored internally and constantly updated using a laser tower on top of the device. This isn’t the sort of thing you’ll need to tell your parents if you buy them one, but robotics geeks have a lot fun reading ahead of them if they want to compare the XV-11’s cleaning methodology to that of the Roomba. The most notable difference is that the XV-11 cleans in a straight-line method that mimics the way a person would clean while the Roomba has a seemingly random (though still highly effective) cleaning pattern.

Like the competition the Neato is a vacuum that can be scheduled and charged in a dock. The XV-11 is capable of charging itself mid-way through it’s cleaning though, which might be important if you have a large space that needs to be covered. The bot is smart enough to start where it left off before the recharge.

The XV-11’s cleaning mechanism seems a lot simpler then the Roomba’s. It uses a drum (aka a beater) with soft plastic fins in order to scrape up debris and allow the vacuum to suck it all into the bin. There are no bristles though, which could be a problem with tough tasks like picking up long hair from carpeting. The system works on all floor types, including rugs, and it works very well on both hardware and tile. The downside of the XV-11 is that it’s louder then the Roomba (particularly the 560) and the tone it puts out is even more unpleasant. The XV-11 sounds like someone next door is running a leaf blower, while the Roomba sounds more like a big wind-up toy. The XV-11 is said to be a more powerful vacuum though, which will appeal to some people, but I haven’t found it makes much of a difference on my hardwood floors. Rugs/carpet should certainly be a different story.

Watching the XV-11 clean, it’s clear to see how clever it is. The bot will clean the perimeter of a room first and then the interior. Then it will return to the the doorways it discovered while mapping and attempt to find them. After this it will clean the next room, then leave that and clean all the other exit paths from each room. It actively maps and keeps track of what has been cleaned and what is left to clean. Neato’s method does a very good job of finding rooms and alcoves that the Roomba would only stumble upon randomly and could very well miss if you don’t have lighthouses installed.

As smart as Neato’s bot is, it’s not without a few downsides. First of all, the device is rather ugly. It’s a sort of olive green that would be more at home at an army barracks than docked in your living room and its shape is utilitarian and not appealing. It’s also louder than most of the Roombas, which can get annoying if you run it when you are home (the scheduling will make this a non-issue for some people). Next, the squared front and lack of a side brush means that it’s not great at cleaning corners. Because it maps the rooms it’s in you can’t pick it up and put it down without ruining the maps, so you really do need to let it run its course unless if you want to lock it away in single room with the door shut. Also, rather than using virtual walls Neato opted to include 15 feet of a black rubber strip to act as a barrier for the robot. This is an unattractive, low-tech method that doesn’t require batteries but seems more fitting for the garage than the living room.

One thing you can’t miss about the Neato XV-11 is that this thing seems smart. It clearly knows the rooms it’s in, can identify doorways, and has no trouble finding its dock. It’s an effective cleaning tool that did a good job of cleaning my apartment without human interaction. It also seems to require less maintenance then the Roomba, thanks to less external moving parts (though it’s not as easy to take apart and rebuild). Simply put: Neato delivered on what they promised and has come out with a strong product despite this being the first iteration.

Ultimately the question comes down to Roomba vs. XV-11 and it’s not an easy one to answer. Both have their strengths and watching the Roomba bounce around your home is a lot more entertaining than watching the cold, methodical XV-11 terminate particulate. That said, having to hunt your Roomba down because it couldn’t find its dock isn’t that much fun either, so Neato is definitely onto something with their robot’s mapping system. Ideally I’d like to see the hardware of Roomba matched with the brains of the XV-11, but for the time being it’s a toss-up thanks largely to price. The XV-11 seems to emerge as the overall winner, but it’s more expensive than the Roomba 560, plus iRobot sells more affordable models. That said, if you are going to get a Roomba 570 (which has multi-room support unlike the 560) or load up on lighthouses and virtual walls than the Neato is actually cheaper.